Next stop, Vladivostok: Russia officially states readiness to chair APEC in 2012

Russia had officially stated its readiness to chair APEC in 2012, Russian President Vladimir Putin wrote in The Australian (7/9/2007, p. 16).See you in Vladivostok: “And it is not by chance that we have suggested the summit be held in the eastern part of our country, in the city of Vladivostok. The meeting will allow a detailed discussion of the future of the region and its progress towards sustainable and stable develop­ment”.

Russia’s energy infrastructure anti-terror system: “It would not be the first time important APEC events have taken place in the Russian far east. The Russian Federation is consistently strengthening its positions in these impor­tant spheres of regional co-operation. Our country has been making a notable contribution to APEC counter-terrorism activities. This year, for example, we put forward an initiative to set up a system to protect critical energy infrastructure facilities against terrorist attacks. We actively co-operate with other forum member states to cut off financial chan­nels feeding terrorists and to counter corruption.

Putin for “dialogue between cultures “: “Finally, starting from last year, our country has been co-sponsoring a broad dialogue between cultures within APEC to help protect our societies, particularly the youth, from xenophobia and ethnic or religious intolerance.

Russia spruiks emergency-management credentials: “Russia pioneered work on managing the consequences of natural and man­made emergencies and designing a system of information-sharing and co-ordinated response to epidemic and pandemic outbreaks. Moreover, we have unswerv­ingly supported progress towards regional energy security.

Reference: Vladimir Putin is the first Russian or Soviet leader to visit Australia.